


The Captain and the Cavalry

by 26stars



Series: Fall Prompts 2020 [21]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain Marvel (2019)
Genre: Academy faculty May, Empath!May, F/F, Post-Canon, Slight spoilers for Spiderman Far From Home?, Spoilers for AoS season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27797428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/26stars/pseuds/26stars
Summary: May was just looking for something to remind her how it felt to fly a plane. Before the night is over, she learns a new way to fly.For the fall prompt 'surprise'
Relationships: Carol Danvers/Melinda May
Series: Fall Prompts 2020 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931209
Comments: 12
Kudos: 17
Collections: Women of the MCU





	The Captain and the Cavalry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anissa_qiaolian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anissa_qiaolian/gifts).



> Soooooo I am very very very weak for Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers...so weak that I've always been super intimidated by the idea of writing about her. But I'm finally getting over the hump by pairing her with my other favorite character. Because really...these two would be such a power couple.
> 
> For anissa_qiaolian for creating this tag and writing a fic that makes me smile every time I see the title (We Can All Do May) :)

May kicked a stray pebble off the sidewalk in front of her, trying to decide if she wanted to slow down her walk her go a little faster. Campus was usually fairly quiet at this time of the week—a Friday night just before sundown—so thankfully, she wasn’t crossing paths with too many of her former or current students. They may have been busy kicking off their weekends, or they could just be giving her a wide berth, based on the look on her face. Restlessness was not a new feeling—May had anticipated that it would be somewhat inevitable when she finally stepped down from field work in order to take a position at the fledgling SHIELD Academy. In her downtime from her surprisingly busy schedule, she’d done her best to pick up a couple of healthy habits that helped keep the anxious feeling at bay, but today, it was absolutely palpable. She was _missing_ something, but it wasn’t her people. It wasn’t the field’s danger, or even its excitement. It was, thankfully, something a bit easier to remedy:

Her feet had been on the ground too long—she was itching to get in the air.

A pilot training school for the new Academy was still a few years down the road of their ten-year plan, so there was no hope of sneaking a plane out of their fleet for a joy ride (as if anyone would question Melinda May commandeering one without any reason given…). But the Science Academy’s engineering department always had new plane mockups set up in their buildings, and maybe tonight, that could be the next best thing. Scratch the itch just a little.

May turned her steps towards the far side of campus.

A large warehouse adjacent to one of the lecture halls housed most of the largest projects on campus, and Melinda’s fingerprints gave her access to the space even though it wasn’t her department. As expected, the place was deserted, so May took her time moseying through the front space towards her real destination. She flipped on lights, peered through windows, tried to guess at the equipment and projects she could see…

As she opened the door to the largest room, however, and found all the lights already on, she realized she was not, in fact, alone.

A woman was standing casually in the large space facing away from the door, hands hidden in an army-green jacket and a baseball cap nestled over a short mop of blonde hair. She glanced over as May walked in, and at the sight of her profile, May froze in her tracks.

_It couldn’t be._

She could feel distant tendrils of the woman’s emotions, a low but charged force, like a humming power line. She wasn’t at all nervous to be here; in fact, she felt quite proud of herself, for some reason. But she wasn’t even acknowledging May’s presence, so May cleared her throat.

“I hope you’re staff, otherwise you’re trespassing.”

The stranger turned fully towards her then, brown eyes bright.

“Doesn’t say much about your security, does it?”

_Yep, that’s her._

May took a brave step closer. “Well, I don’t think too many barriers stand a chance against Captain Marvel, do they?”

The woman raised a knowing brow, taking a few confident steps towards May and removing her hands from her pockets.

“I’ve heard the same about the Cavalry.”

The moniker didn’t have the same effect on May that it used to, so she just smirked as the other woman approached.

“Is that what the kids call me when I’m not around?”

The blonde smirked right back. “No, it’s what Fury told me to try calling you and then tell him what happened next.”

May was surprised, though she guessed she shouldn’t be.

“Fury? Have you seen him lately?”

The blonde smiled. “Yep. Helped him set up his new office a couple of weeks ago. It’s got a nice view.”

They were now close enough that May offered her hand.

“Melinda May.”

The woman shook it in a strong grip. Her skin was warm as a live wire, and the flood of eagerness and energy made May’s heart beat faster.

“I know who you are. Carol Danvers. Nice to meet you.”

May kept staring in the woman’s eyes as she released her hand, allowing the shared feelings to lessen a bit. “Carol…or do you prefer Captain?”

The blonde slipped her hands back into her pockets. “The name’s Carol. Marvel is more like a mantle.”

May crossed her arms, trying to match the woman’s confidence. “Well, as an administrator, I’m obligated to ask what you’re doing here—are you guest lecturing here this weekend and I haven’t heard?”

Carol smirked again— _or was that just how she smiled?_ “Nah, Fury sent me to see how things were going down here. Wanted to know how his legacies were doing. But I couldn’t help checking out any of the new planes the engineering teams might be working on while I was here. What about you?”

For the first time, May finally looked around the large room. There were a couple of shells of plane sections spread out throughout the space, all in various states of completion. Nothing around that looked much like a cockpit or completed plane, though.

“I’m getting a little cabin fever after not being airborne for a few months. I guess you know what that’s like?”

She glanced at the other woman again and found her smiling— _ah, so she can smile too. And she’s got a nice one…_

“Well, I don’t really need a plane to get airborne myself. But I do know the feeling.”

For some reason, May suddenly felt embarrassed.

“Right,” she said, glancing away and shuffling on her feet. “I forgot for a second who I was talking to.”

Carol cocked her head. “Have you ever been flying without a plane?”

“I’ve done a few jumps, but I don’t think that’s what you mean,” May offered with a shrug.

The woman shook her head. “No, I think you know what I mean…So would you want to try?”

May gave her a surprised look. “Are you being serious?”

Carol shrugged. “Fury dared me to make a new friend on this visit, and I’m awkward at small talk, but I’ve got a few party tricks to break the ice. Want to give it a go?” She gestured with one hand towards the door, her eyes bright. She looked more excited about the idea than May currently felt.

“Sounds dangerous,” May stalled.

Carol gave her a daring smile. “Dangerous is just another word for exciting, and I think that’s what you were after, right? But don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”

May hesitated.

This isn’t how she saw her evening going, but May would be crazy to turn an offer like that down.

“Okay, sure,” she finally said, trying to sound confident, falling in step beside Carol as she led them towards the door.

On the front lawn under a blanket of stars, May turned awkwardly to Carol, biting her lip.

“Do I just hop in your arms like Lois Lane or what?”

Carol smirked (yeah, that was definitely a smirk) as she unzipped her jacket, peeling it off to reveal her iconic red, blue, and gold uniform underneath. “Nah, I’ll just carry you like I carry the guys sometimes,” she said, swinging the jacket around May’s shoulders. “But if you like what you see, you can buy me a drink. And then maybe next time we can try it a different way.”

May slipped her arms through the sleeves and zipped the jacket up. It was still warm.

“You seem awfully confident that I’ll want to do this twice.”

Carol smiled, her eyes lighting up gold just before the rest of her did. “You’re a pilot. I think I know how this ends.”

Stepping behind May, she wrapped her arms around her chest, holding her beneath the armpits. The shared feelings rushed in again, and this time, there was something new, something that made May grin, even though Carol couldn’t see it.

She still gasped a little as Carol lifted them off the ground, slowly at first, as if trying to ease her into the new experience. May kept smiling as they rose, even wider as the woman tucked her face near May’s ear just before picking up the speed.

“Hold on and try not to scream.”

It actually wasn’t the last time that night that Carol had to say that.


End file.
